For several seconds, nobody moved.
The woman stood at the far end of the throne room with the silver mask hanging loosely from one hand.
There was nothing remarkable about her appearance.
She looked perhaps a few years older than Evelyn, with long dark hair falling over one shoulder and a calm expression that would have seemed almost ordinary if not for the circumstances.
Yet Lucien looked as though he had just seen a ghost.
Evelyn had never seen him like that.
Not during the attack on the estate.
Not when they found his father’s hidden records.
Not even when they discovered that someone had been manipulating the imperial investigation.
This was different.
His entire body had gone rigid.
His eyes remained fixed on the woman.
The emperor was equally disturbed.
Only Adrian seemed to understand what was happening.
And that was the first thing Evelyn noticed.
The Crown Prince wasn’t surprised to see her.
He was afraid.
Not of the woman herself.
Of what her appearance meant.
Evelyn slowly turned toward him.
“You know her.”
Adrian didn’t answer.
The woman smiled.
“Of course he does.”
Her voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
That made it worse.
Evelyn looked back at her.
“You said you watched me die.”
“I did.”
“More than once.”
“Yes.”
“Who are you?”
The woman’s gaze moved toward Lucien.
“Perhaps he should answer that.”
Everyone looked at him.
Lucien didn’t speak.
The emperor finally broke the silence.
“Guards.”
Nothing happened.
The soldiers standing along the walls remained motionless.
The emperor’s expression darkened.
“Guards!”
One of them finally moved.
He stepped forward.
Then stopped.
The silver ring on his hand caught the light.
Evelyn’s stomach tightened.
The same symbol.
The black bird enclosed in a circle.
The soldier lowered his sword.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
The emperor stared at him.
“What did you say?”
“I cannot obey.”
Another soldier lowered his weapon.
Then another.
Within seconds, half the guards in the room had stepped away from the emperor.
Evelyn looked at Lucien.
He had noticed too.
The woman hadn’t merely entered the palace.
She had control over part of the imperial guard.
The emperor slowly turned toward Adrian.
“You.”
Adrian’s face remained pale.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You knew!”
Adrian flinched.
The woman laughed softly.
“You always were terrible at lying to your father.”
The emperor’s eyes returned to her.
“Why are you here?”
“To finish something you failed to finish twenty years ago.”
The emperor’s jaw tightened.
“I killed everyone.”
“No.”
She looked at Evelyn.
“You tried.”
Evelyn felt cold.
Twenty years ago.
The same year as the letter hidden in Lucien’s father’s book.
The same year the strange message had been written.
The same year before Lucien’s father died.
There was a connection.
There had to be.
Evelyn stepped forward.
“What happened twenty years ago?”
The woman studied her.
“You truly don’t remember.”
“No.”
“Interesting.”
“Answer me.”
The woman smiled.
“You sound exactly like her.”
“Like who?”
“Yourself.”
Evelyn frowned.
The woman walked slowly toward them.
No one stopped her.
She stopped several steps away.
“Twenty years ago, the Arclight family disappeared.”
Evelyn knew that much.
At least, she thought she did.
The official history claimed that the Arclights had fallen from favor after being accused of treason.
Their lands had been seized.
Most members of the family had supposedly been executed.
The surviving records were incomplete.
But that wasn’t what the woman said.
“They weren’t executed,” she continued.
“They were erased.”
Evelyn’s breath caught.
“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
The woman looked toward the throne.
“The emperor didn’t want the Arclights dead.”
“Then what did he want?”
“Their memories.”
Silence.
Lucien finally spoke.
“Stop.”
The woman looked at him.
“Why?”
“You know nothing about her.”
“I know more than you do.”
“Then tell me.”
Her expression softened.
“I already told you.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“I watched your father die.”
Lucien’s hand tightened around his sword.
“How?”
“He trusted me.”
Evelyn looked at him.
Lucien’s face was unreadable.
“She killed him?” Evelyn asked.
The woman answered immediately.
“No.”
Lucien did.
“He did.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“What?”
“My father wasn’t killed by her.”
The woman smiled faintly.
“He killed himself.”
Evelyn’s stomach twisted.
“Why?”
“Because he remembered.”
The woman took another step.
“He remembered what the Crown had done.”
The emperor suddenly spoke.
“Enough.”
The woman turned.
“You should have stayed silent.”
“I’ve stayed silent for twenty years.”
She smiled.
“I’m tired.”
The emperor raised his hand.
A faint blue light appeared around his fingers.
Magic.
Evelyn instinctively stepped backward.
Lucien moved in front of her.
The woman laughed.
“You still think magic will protect you?”
The emperor’s expression hardened.
“I don’t need protection.”
The room suddenly became unbearably cold.
The lights flickered.
Then every magical flame in the chamber went out.
The emperor stared at his hand.
The glow had disappeared.
He tried again.
Nothing.
His expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
The woman looked toward Evelyn.
“Now you understand why I wanted you here.”
Evelyn stared.
“You brought me here?”
“No.”
The woman glanced toward Adrian.
“He did.”
Evelyn turned.
Adrian didn’t deny it.
“You knew she’d come.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the summons.”
“Yes.”
“You knew the attack would happen.”
“No.”
That answer surprised her.
Adrian shook his head.
“I knew someone was trying to force you toward the capital.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
The woman smiled.
“He still doesn’t.”
Adrian glared at her.
“Stop pretending you know everything.”
“I know enough.”
Evelyn looked between them.
“Then tell me what is happening.”
Nobody answered.
She raised her voice.
“Tell me!”
Her words echoed across the throne room.
The woman studied her.
Then said quietly:
“Your family discovered a way to change history.”
Evelyn froze.
Lucien looked at her.
The woman continued.
“They believed they could use it to prevent wars.”
“The First Crown.”
“Yes.”
“The Crown isn’t a crown.”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
The woman looked at the emperor.
“A prison.”
Evelyn’s heart sank.
“For whom?”
The woman smiled.
“For the memories that should never have survived.”
The throne room was evacuated.
The emperor was escorted into another chamber under heavy guard.
Adrian insisted that Evelyn and Lucien follow him.
The woman came too.
No one tried to stop her.
They entered a private council room.
The doors closed.
For the first time, they were alone.
Evelyn sat at the table.
Lucien remained standing beside her.
Adrian stood opposite.
The woman leaned against the wall.
Evelyn looked at her.
“I still don’t know your name.”
The woman hesitated.
Then said:
“Seraphine.”
“Seraphine what?”
“Just Seraphine.”
Evelyn frowned.
“You’re an Arclight.”
Seraphine smiled.
“Very good.”
Lucien looked at her.
“Which branch?”
“None.”
“Then how do you know them?”
Seraphine looked at him.
“Because I was there.”
“Where?”
“The first time the Crown was used.”
Evelyn felt a headache beginning.
“Can we stop speaking in riddles?”
Seraphine laughed.
“Yes.”
She pulled a chair toward the table.
Then sat.
“Twenty years ago, your family discovered the First Crown beneath the old imperial capital.”
Evelyn listened.
“It wasn’t created by the Arclights. It was much older than the empire.”
“What did it do?”
“It could preserve memories.”
“That’s all?”
“No.”
Seraphine looked at her.
“It could also remove them.”
Evelyn’s fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
“Why?”
“Because memory is dangerous.”
Lucien spoke.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does when you understand what the Crown was built to contain.”
“What?”
Seraphine looked toward Evelyn.
“The original history.”
Adrian’s expression tightened.
“The history before the empire.”
“Yes.”
Seraphine continued.
“The empire wasn’t the first civilization to control this land.”
Evelyn already suspected that.
“What happened to them?”
“They destroyed themselves.”
“Why?”
“Because they learned how to rewrite memories.”
Lucien frowned.
“That doesn’t explain destruction.”
“It does.”
Seraphine’s voice became quieter.
“If you can erase someone’s memory, you can erase betrayal.”
“If you can change a memory, you can change loyalty.”
“If you can rewrite history, you can make a murderer believe he was a hero.”
Evelyn felt cold.
“And that’s what happened.”
Seraphine nodded.
“The first rulers used the Crown to erase the memory of a rebellion.”
“Whose rebellion?”
“Everyone’s.”
She looked at Lucien.
“The Valemonts.”
He went still.
“Your family discovered the truth.”
Seraphine looked at Evelyn.
“Your family helped hide it.”
Evelyn frowned.
“Why would we?”
“Because the alternative was war.”
Lucien laughed bitterly.
“And it worked?”
“No.”
Seraphine looked toward the closed doors.
“It created the empire you live in.”
The conversation continued for nearly an hour.
Evelyn asked question after question.
Seraphine answered some.
Others she refused.
But the pieces began fitting together.
The Arclights had been guardians of the First Crown.
The Valemonts had been its protectors.
The imperial family had taken control of it generations later.
At first, the Crown was used to prevent civil wars.
Then it became a tool of political control.
Memories were altered.
Witnesses forgot crimes.
Rebellions disappeared from historical records.
Entire families were removed from official history.
Eventually, the system became so powerful that nobody remembered where it had begun.
Except the guardians.
And every time a guardian tried to expose it, they were erased.
Evelyn stared at Seraphine.
“So my family knew.”
“Yes.”
“And they kept it secret.”
“Yes.”
“Then why should I trust them?”
Seraphine smiled.
“You shouldn’t.”
Evelyn looked at Lucien.
“And his family?”
“Same.”
Lucien’s expression hardened.
“You keep speaking as though we’re responsible.”
“You aren’t.”
“Then why tell us?”
“Because you are the first two people in centuries who have broken the pattern.”
Evelyn frowned.
“What pattern?”
Seraphine looked between them.
“The story.”
The word made Evelyn uncomfortable.
“The same events have been happening repeatedly.”
Lucien stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Seraphine shook her head.
“You’ve already seen it.”
Evelyn thought about Adrian.
About the three lives.
About her own death.
About Lucien becoming the villain.
She swallowed.
“How many times?”
Seraphine’s expression changed.
“I don’t know.”
“Then who does?”
She looked at Evelyn.
“You.”
Evelyn felt her heart stop.
“What?”
“You knew once.”
“I don’t remember.”
“I know.”
“Then how can I know?”
“Because you were the one who erased yourself.”
Silence.
Lucien looked at her.
“What did she erase?”
Seraphine answered.
“Everything.”
Evelyn felt dizzy.
Her memories.
Her family.
Her childhood.
Her previous life.
Perhaps even her first encounter with Lucien.
All of it could have been deliberately removed.
She had spent her entire life believing she had been Evelyn Arclight.
What if that was only the name she had been given afterward?
What if the person she used to be had another name?
Another identity?
Another purpose?
She closed her eyes.
A flash appeared.
A white room.
A table.
A golden Crown.
A man standing beside her.
Lucien.
Younger.
His hand was bleeding.
She heard herself say:
“Don’t let them make me remember.”
Then the vision vanished.
Evelyn opened her eyes.
Lucien was staring at her.
“You saw something.”
She nodded.
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
Seraphine’s expression had become strangely sad.
“You are beginning to remember.”
Evelyn stood abruptly.
“I don’t want to.”
Nobody spoke.
She looked at Lucien.
“I don’t want to remember.”
He approached.
Slowly.
He stopped in front of her.
“You don’t have to.”
She looked up.
“But what if the truth changes everything?”
“Then we’ll deal with it.”
“What if I was the one who caused this?”
“Then we’ll deal with that too.”
“What if I betrayed you?”
His eyes remained fixed on hers.
“Then I will decide whether to forgive you.”
She swallowed.
“And if you can’t?”
“Then I’ll tell you.”
His answer was simple.
No promises.
No empty reassurance.
Somehow, that made it easier to breathe.
Evelyn looked away.
“You’re supposed to say you’ll forgive me.”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
She almost smiled.
“You’re terrible at comfort.”
“I know.”
She looked back at him.
“But you came anyway.”
“Of course.”
For a moment, the room disappeared.
There was only the two of them.
Then Adrian cleared his throat.
Evelyn stepped away.
“Sorry.”
Adrian looked uncomfortable.
“I should probably apologize.”
“For what?”
“For knowing more than I told you.”
Lucien turned toward him.
“That’s an understatement.”
Adrian sighed.
“I remember pieces.”
“How many?”
“Enough to know that every time this happens, I make the same mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“I trust the emperor.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because in every life, he convinces me that he’s protecting the empire.”
“And this time?”
Adrian looked toward the door.
“This time, I don’t believe him.”
Seraphine stood.
“Good.”
She reached into her coat and placed a small object on the table.
A key.
It was made of black metal.
At its center was the same symbol as the ring.
The Silver Crow.
Evelyn stared.
“What’s this?”
“The key to the old archives.”
Lucien looked at her.
“Where?”
“Beneath the palace.”
Adrian frowned.
“Those archives were sealed.”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
Seraphine smiled.
“By Evelyn.”
Evelyn froze.
The room went silent.
Lucien looked at the key.
Then at her.
“You’ve been there before.”
“I don’t remember.”
“I know.”
Seraphine walked toward the door.
“That’s why you need to go.”
“Where?”
“The place where you erased your memories.”
She stopped.
“The old archive.”
Then she turned toward Evelyn.
“Your past is waiting for you there.”
The door opened.
Before leaving, Seraphine looked at Lucien.
“And yours.”
That night, Evelyn couldn’t sleep.
The guest room in the palace was luxurious.
Too luxurious.
The bed was enormous.
The curtains were made of heavy velvet.
A fire burned quietly in the fireplace.
None of it helped.
She sat beside the window, staring at the city.
Lucien had been assigned the room next to hers.
She wondered if he was awake.
She wondered if he was thinking about the same things.
Her father.
His father.
The Crown.
The woman who had watched them die.
And the possibility that their entire lives had been manipulated.
A knock came at the door.
Evelyn stood.
“Who?”
“It’s me.”
Lucien.
She opened it.
He stood outside without his coat.
“You should sleep.”
“So should you.”
“I wasn’t tired.”
“Neither am I.”
He looked at her.
“May I come in?”
She nodded.
He entered.
They sat near the fireplace.
For a while, they said nothing.
Then Evelyn asked:
“Do you believe her?”
“Some of it.”
“Not all?”
“I don’t know.”
She nodded.
“I don’t know either.”
Lucien looked at the fire.
“I keep thinking about my father.”
“Because of what Seraphine said.”
“Yes.”
“What do you remember?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
He shook his head.
“That’s the problem.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You think something was erased.”
“I know something was.”
She waited.
“My father died when I was thirteen.”
“I know.”
“He was already ill.”
“Yes.”
“But I remember visiting him the night before.”
Evelyn listened.
“He told me something.”
“What?”
Lucien frowned.
“I can’t remember.”
“Because of the Crown?”
“Maybe.”
He looked at her.
“I remember his mouth moving.”
“But not the words.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn reached for his hand.
She didn’t think about it.
She simply did it.
His fingers closed around hers.
“Maybe we’ll remember together.”
Lucien looked at their hands.
“Maybe.”
She smiled.
Neither of them noticed the faint glow beneath Evelyn’s skin.
The same golden light that had appeared in the temple.
The same light that had once belonged to the First Crown.
And somewhere beneath the palace, an ancient mechanism began to move.
A lock opened.
Then another.
Deep below the imperial archives, a door that had remained sealed for twenty years slowly swung inward.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
A single lamp ignited.
And on a stone table inside the chamber rested a book.
Its cover bore no title.
Only two names.
Evelyn Arclight.
Lucien Valemont.
Beneath them was a date.
A date that had not yet happened.
Evelyn’s death.
Again.
And beneath that, written in red ink, were five words:
This time, he will remember.